“National team does not depend entirely on him” - Portugal star suggests Cristiano Ronaldo is past his prime ahead of Euro 2024

Manchester City loanee Joao Cancelo has suggested that Portugal teammate Cristiano Ronaldo is past his prime ahead of the 2024 European Championships.

The pair have played 69 matches along with each other for the national team, managing four joint goal contributions. Although Cancelo acknowledged Roanldo's importance to Portugal, he believes most footballers peak between 25 and 32.

Hence, it would imply that the Al-Nassr striker is well past his best. The defender said (via @GOATTWORLD):

"He is an important player and spent 15 years competing with Messi for the Ballon d'Or, but the peak of a footballer's career is between the ages of 25 and 32. He is an important player for us, but the national team does not entirely depend on him."

Ronaldo has played 205 matches across competitions for Portugal, bagging 128 goals. He has also won the European Champions earlier with his country in 2016.

Despite Cancelo claiming that the 39-year-old striker doesn't have to shoulder the burden of his team, a large part of Portugal's success will be down to Ronaldo. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United man has been on fire this season, having scored 30 goals in 33 appearances across competitions for Al-Nassr.

Ronaldo is set to miss Portugal's first friendly against Sweden in the ongoing international break on Thursday (March 21). As per ESPN, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner will be rested during this tie.

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Sir Jim Ratcliffe names Cristiano Ronaldo as Manchester United's best-ever player

Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester United's new investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe has named Cristiano Ronaldo the Red Devils' best player of all time. The Portuguese star pipped other greats, Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes, and Rio Ferdinand, to this title.

Ronaldo completed two spells at Old Trafford, first from 2003 to 2009 and then from 2021 to 2022. The first of these stays was far more successful and helped the Saudi Pro League star secure a reported €94 million move to Real Madrid.

His second stint, which was towards the back end of his career, saw Ronaldo fallout with manager Erik ten Hag and have his contract mutually terminated.

However, when asked about the greatest ever Manchester United player, Ratcliffe said (via Independent):

"Probably Ronaldo, I guess."

Ronaldo played 346 matches across competitions for the Red Devils, bagging 145 goals and 64 assists. He won three Premier League titles and one UEFA Champions League trophy, among other honors, at Old Trafford.